Seven children in China

Smoke swirls around Yang Hongnian’s face as he puffs on a cigarette in the cramped, dimly lit home that he shares with his wife Le Huimin and their seven kids.

They stand out in China, where the country’s family planning policies normally limit couples to having just one or two children. Yang, a migrant worker in the construction industry, supports the whole family on around 3000-4000 yuan ($487 - $650) a month.

7 Aug 2014. JINHUA, China. REUTERS/William Hong

Le and Yang have had six children together over the course of a decade in addition to a daughter of Le’s from a previous marriage.

China has eased its famous one-child policy, making it easier for many couples to have two children, but having as many as Le and Yang is still against the rules.

As a result, four of their youngsters have not been able to get “hukou” residence permits, without which it is hard for children to be registered at school.

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7 Aug 2014. JINHUA, China. REUTERS/William Hong

Yang and Le’s children drink outside their house.

7 Aug 2014. JINHUA, China. REUTERS/William Hong

Mei combs her sister Wan’s hair.

7 Aug 2014. JINHUA, China. REUTERS/William Hong

Yang and Le’s children play on a see-saw.

7 Aug 2014. JINHUA, China. REUTERS/William Hong

Nine-year-old Zhenggang and his six-year-old sister Wan play outside their home.

7 Aug 2014. JINHUA, China. REUTERS/William Hong

Four-year-old Chao drinks water from a pot.

7 Aug 2014. JINHUA, China. REUTERS/William Hong

Yang talks to his daughter Wan as Mei washes dishes.

7 Aug 2014. JINHUA, China. REUTERS/William Hong

Yang and Le pose for a picture with their seven children.

7 Aug 2014. JINHUA, China. REUTERS/William Hong

Shoes lie in a row in the family’s home.

"Suddenly the already cramped house was completely full."
William Hong, Reuters Photographer

Even after I set out to visit his family, the story of Yang Hongnian and his seven children sounded unbelievable to me. As I stood in front of his makeshift house, which is just 20 meters square, I still wasn’t sure it could be true.

The children played around as I waited for Yang to finish work so that he could be interviewed. Eventually, he walked into the dimly lit space with a tired face and a lighted cigarette. The children rushed and surrounded him. Suddenly the already cramped house was completely full.

Yang and his wife Le Huimin have had six children together over the past ten years, in addition to a daughter of Le’s from a previous marriage.

China has eased its famous one-child policy, making it easier for many couples to have two children. However, having as many children as Yang and Le definitely breaks the country’s family planning policy.

That means that four of their kids have not been able to get ‘hukou’ residence permits. Without these documents it’s hard for children to be registered for a primary school and there may be more problems for them as they grow up.

Yang is 47 years old but he looks older. He does basic cement and carpentry jobs in the construction industry, but the work is both badly paid and unstable. Some days, he can’t find any sites at all that need his labour.

On average, he earns about 3,000 - 4,000 yuan ($487 - $650) a month. And that’s all the money the family can count on since Le has to stay at home to take care of the kids.

Yang told me there were people who had come to him and offered to adopt their children. Some even promised to provide several thousand yuan as compensation but he and his wife declined.

“We have given birth to them, so we are obligated to raise them, even if it means begging on the streets,” he said.